Superstar Lee Jung-hoo's hardship, how to tame 162.6 billion, not a rookie, not a minor? Foul → Three-strike aftermath
Apr 27, 2025
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Some analysts say that the major league referees' 'stretching' against Lee Jung-hoo, who is nothing more than a rookie, has begun in earnest.
Lee Jung-hoo had one hit in four at-bats against the Texas Rangers at Oracle Park on the 27th (Korea time). In his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, he hit a left-handed hit against Tyler Marley, who was the No. 1 ERA in both leagues until the previous day.
Lee Jung-hoo, who hit a ground ball to shortstop in the third inning, tilted his head at the decision of a strike with one out and one on the first base in the fifth inning when the score was 2-2. The strike decision came even though Marley's second pitch, a 91.8-mile four-seam fastball, fell out of the outer corner of the strike zone in the ball count 1S. When the 85.7-mile splitter fell outside on the third pitch, Lee Jung-hoo pushed it as it was and retired with a fly ball to left field.
Batters' complaints about strike and ball decisions are common, but it should be considered that it is no coincidence that Lee Jung-hoo is particularly frequent.
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In that game, Lee Jung-hoo played as a pinch hitter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing 4-6, and had an infield hit. In the full count, he hit left-hander Jose Alvarado's 100.3-mile sinker to hit the ball toward second base and was safe at first base. The game ended when the next batter, Christian Kos, hit a ground ball to shortstop and Lee Jung-hoo was forced out of the second base.
However, referee Phil Coogee, who played the center, came to the San Francisco dugout and called Lee Jung-hoo through interpreter Han Dong-hee and said something. At that time, he took issue with Lee Jung-hoo hitting the helmet shortly after Alvarado's third pitch 99.5 miles low sinker became a strike at the ball count of 1B1S.
Lee Jung-hoo only did the act of pressing lightly because his helmet was often taken off, and Coogee said it could be accepted as an ABS (automatic strike reading system) challenge request.
Coogee told local reporters "I told them not to do anything that would be acceptable as an ABS challenge request through a trial game." Lee Jung-hoo is not the only player who touches the helmet. The message of the Kuji centripetal can be seen as taming aimed at Lee Jung-hoo.
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Even on a slow screen, the ball was found to have been hit by Lee Jung-hoo's bat. The local broadcaster was also hit by the bat, so it should be a foul" he raised his voice. Director Bob Melvin appealed to Jones, but it was not accepted. Jones' centripetal claimed that the ball struck swinging Lee Jung-hoo's hand, so it was a strikeout.
In the Major League, when a strikeout is declared by a check swing, whether to foul or not is not the subject of the challenge.
After the game, Lee Jung-hoo said, "I was trying to avoid the ball and got hit by the bat, but I couldn't understand why it was a strikeout"If the ball had hit my hand, I would have been lying on the floor in pain and rolling around," he said, complaining of unfairness.
Lee Jung-hoo continued to insist that `I swung and the ball hit my hand. That's why it's not subject to replay. They say it cannot be judged as a foul because strikeouts have already been declared. I don't know what basic qualities a referee needs."
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It is an open secret that Major League referees decide to tame rookie players who have just come up from the minor leagues. The players involved also accept this culture to some extent. However, Lee Jung-hoo was neither a rookie nor a minor league player. He is a big league superstar who receives $113 million (about 162.6 billion won) for six years. If it's an attempt to tame, it's too much.
Anyway, San Francisco, with Lee Jung-hoo as its star player, jumped to the lead in the NL West with 18 wins and 10 losses as of today. The FanGraphs increased San Francisco's odds of making the playoffs to 56.1%.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
